The Japan government has approved a cut to the FIT for solar by 10%. The cut would see the tariff paid be reduced to JPY37.8/kWh (US$0.40/kWh) from the current rate of JPY42/kWh (US$0.45/kWh), as of April 1.

The Japan solar market has significantly changed since the introduction of feed-in-tariffs (FITs) last July. With domestic demand growing faster than expected, Japan's government has proposed a FIT reduction of around 10%.

Canadian Solar Inc., the world's fifth-largest maker of solar modules, plans to build a plant in Japan as soon as fiscal 2013 to become the first foreign company to produce solar panels here, company sources said.

NTT DoCoMo will partner with several Japanese hardware makers and Korean manufacturer Samsung Electronics to develop core chips for use in future smartphones, Japan's biggest business newspaper reported Monday.

The latest beta of iOS 5 features an earthquake warning system for Japanese iPhone users. The feature constantly checks in with Japan's early warning system, which consists of over 1000 seismographs scattered throughout the country.

"Nintendo 3DS has not been selling as expected since the second week [of availability], and this is not just in the Japanese market but also in the US and Europe, where no direct impact from the great earthquake has occurred," said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.

Corning has announced that its Gorilla glass was selected as the protective cover glass for the docomo Prime series N-02B by NEC. NEC, a mobile phone leader in the Japanese market, is offering this touch phone with a 3.2-inch display.

Japan-based Mitsubishi Electric has announced it plans to almost triple production of solar cells in two years to meet demand for renewable energy. The company last month finished construction of a 24,000 square meter (258,000 square feet) plant in northern Japan that may begin operating this fall.

According to a report by Asahi.com, Toshiba is developing a new technology that can turn cell phones into virtual secretaries. Like many of Japan's mobile-related technologies, this will probably be available only in its home country initially.

The Japanese government will lift punitive tariffs on computer chips South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor makes, leading to a settlement of a three-year-old trade dispute between the two countries, Kyodo News reported Monday, citing Finance Ministry officials.

As of 2013, the 10 ASEAN nations had a total of over 700 million mobile subscriptions, with the CAGR from 2003-2013 reaching 24%. This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the various mobile broadband markets in ASEAN and looks at the respective trends in 4G LTE development for those markets.

This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the strategies of key China-based major panel makers BOE, Tianma and IVO for attacking the different market segments through technology and pricing, and their relationship to local vendors Huawei, Lenovo, ZTE, Xiaomi and Coolpad.